Turmeric Powder

Description
Turmeric is the boiled, dried, cleaned and polished rhizomes of Curcuma longa. The plant is a herbaceous perennial, 60-90 cm high, with a short stem and tufted leaf. There are 7 to 12 leaves, the leaf sheaths forms the pseudo stem. The lamina is green above and pale green below and has a length of 30-40 cm and width 8-12 cm. Inflorescence is a central spike of 10-15 cm length. 1-4 flowers are born in axil of the bract opening one at a time. About 30 flowers are produced in a spike. Seeds are produced in capsules and there will be one to numerous sunken capsules in an inflorescence.
Specifications
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USES
Turmeric is used to flavour and to colour foodstuffs. It is a principal ingredient in curry powder. Turmeric oleoresin is used in brine pickles and to some extent in mayonnaise and relish formulations, non-alcoholic beverages, gelatins, butter and cheese etc. The colour curcumin extracted from turmeric is used as a colourant. Turmeric is also used as a dye in textile industry. It is used in the preparation of medicinal oils, ointments and poultice. It is stomachic, carminative, tonic, blood purifier and an antiseptic. It is used in cosmetics. The aqueous extracts has biopesticidal properties.
INDIAN NAME OF SPICES
Bengali : Halud, Pitras
Gujarati : Haldhar, Haldi
Kannada : Arishia
Konkani : Halad
Malayalam : Manjal
Marathi : Halede, HaladOriya : Haldil
Punjabi : Haldar, Haldhar, Haldi
Sanskrit : Haladi, Harita
Tamil : Manjal
Telugu : Pasupu
Urdu : Haladi
FOREIGN NAME OF SPICES
French : Curcuma
German : Kurkuma Gelbwurzel
Swedish : Gurkmeja
Arabic : Kurkum
Dutch : GeelwortelItalian : Curcuma
Portuguese : Acafrao-da-India
Russian : Zholty Imbir
Japanese : Ukon
Chinese : Yu.Chin
ORIGIN AND DISTRIBUTION
While details about its origin are not clear, it is widely believed that turmeric finds its roots in South East Asia or South Asia where it is still grown extensively. A related species of turmeric , C. xanthorrhiza grows in Java, Indonesia , where it is known as the temu lawak. This species is similar in taste to C.domestica.
In India, it has been in use since time immemorial holding a very important place among the spices of India for its proven therapeutic properties. Its vivid, fast yellow colour made it an important dyeing agent in the ancient times and it is once again gaining popularity as a vegetable dye in todays ethnic apparel industry.